SOUTH BOSTON, Va. — The hometown favorite led the way during practice for Saturday night’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East doubleheader at South Boston Speedway, as Harrison Burton posted the fastest time early at the four-tenths-mile oval.
Burton, whose father Jeff and uncle Ward both began their racing careers at the historic short track, laid down a time of 14.651 seconds (98.287 mph) and unofficially smashed the track qualifying record that Peyton Sellers set in June of 2007.
The No. 12 DEX Imaging Toyota is looking for its second-straight series win, as Burton topped the most recent series race at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
“It means a lot,” Burton said of having speed at his home track, where his family legacy is so deeply rooted. “It’s a great start for us, but we do have two 100-lap races later tonight, and that’s the priority. Hopefully we can keep this going. I think we’ll have a good race car.”
Fellow young gun Chase Purdy took his No. 17 Bama Buggies Toyota to second on the charts, at a clip of 14.670 seconds (98.160 mph). Purdy is still seeking his first series victory, as he contends for the championship in his rookie season.
A trio of Rev Racing Toyotas — driven by Collin Cabre, Chase Cabre and Ruben Garcia Jr. — were third through fifth, respectively.
Former NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion Peyton Sellers was sixth-quickest, while reigning NASCAR K&N Pro Series West titlist Todd Gilliland was seventh ahead of Vinnie Miller.
Toyota ran the table in the 100-minute session, sweeping the top eight spots on the speed charts.
Dillon Bassett was the fastest Chevrolet in ninth, and Tyler Dippel’s Ford landed 10th on the board.
The session was scheduled for 90 minutes, but was delayed with roughly a half hour to go due to Chuck Buchanan’s engine failure in Turns 3 and 4. As a result, NASCAR officials pushed the end of the round back to 3:40 p.m. local time.
21 Means 21 Pole Qualifying, utilizing NASCAR’s multi-car group format, is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Full practice results can be viewed on the next page…
